Do you know that?

I read this from Daily Writing Tips, and wanted to share with you guys.


jumbo [jŭm'bō] - “unusually large.” In the 1880s “jumbo” was an English slang word for “clumsy, unwieldy fellow.” The famous elephant named Jumbo lived in the London Zoo for 17 years and was a great favorite with the English public. U.S. showman P.T. Barnum bought Jumbo for $10,000 in 1882. Thanks to circus advertising, the name “Jumbo” became a synonym for “huge.” In those days before animal protection laws, poor Jumbo did not have a happy life. Born in the French Sudan in 1861, he spent some time being exhibited in Paris before going to the London Zoo in 1865. When Barnum offered to buy him, 100,000 English school children wrote to Queen Victoria begging her to stop the sale. To no avail. Read Jumbo’s sad story at Wikipedia.